Romney calls Santorum an 'economic lightweight'

It was a war of words between the two key Republican presidential candidates ahead of the Illinois primary.

At a campaign stop in Springfield, Mitt Romney took aim at rival Rick Santorum.

SOUNDBITE: Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate saying:

"I'm someone experienced in the economy. I'm not an economic lightweight. President Obama is. We are not going to be successful in replacing an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight. We're going to have to replace him with someone who knows how to run this economy."

A new survey by Public Policy Polling shows Romney with a 15 percent lead over Santorum in Illinois.

At a campaign stop in Rockford, the former senator from Pennsylvania fired back.

SOUNDBITE: Republican presidential Rick Santorum saying:

"I heard governor Romney here call me an economic lightweight because I wasn't a Wall Street financier like he (Romney) was. You really believe this country wants to elect a Wall Street financier as a president of the United States? You think that's the kind of experience we need? Someone who is going to take and look after, as he did, his friends on Wall Street and bail him out at the expense of mainstream America?"

Santorum has sought to portray his rival as an out of touch corporate titan. The heartland primary on Tuesday comes just days after Romney's win in Puerto Rico.

Deborah Gembara, Reuters.