Romney the inevitable nominee now?

Via National Journal:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the Illinois primary Tuesday, beating conservative rival Rick Santorum for a second time in less than a week and strengthening his fire wall in the Midwest, according to Fox News.

The victory came on top of Romney’s sweep of Puerto Rico on Sunday and gave the front-runner renewed momentum, not to mention a strong claim on 54 additional delegates, which will be awarded on a proportional basis.

It was a setback for Santorum and his efforts to be seen as a viable alternative to Romney, the former governor of liberal-leaning Massachusetts who has taken moderate positions on major issues in the past. Santorum won important victories in Mississippi and Alabama last week, but has yet to prove that he can win in states where religious and non-college educated voters hold less sway than they do in the Deep South.