The Latest: Cruz rally in suburban Chicago attracts protest

CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on the run up to the Illinois primary on Tuesday (all times local):

4:50 p.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign rally in suburban Chicago has been interrupted by an animal rights protester.

A woman holding a sign that says "Animal Liberation Now" disrupted Cruz's speech Monday in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, before being led away by security. The crowd chanted "We want Ted!" to drown out the woman's message.

Cruz acknowledged her right to speak, but tried to make a joke out of the disruption, saying he also cares "about human beings."

Protesters are not as common at Cruz campaign stops as they are for Donald Trump, where fear of violence led to cancellation of a Trump event on Friday night in Chicago.

___

4:00 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is looking toward primary contests in five states as the linchpin of his strategy to turn the tide against Hillary Clinton and overcome her delegate edge in the Democratic primary.

Clinton urged Democrats to unite behind her bid to focus on a far bigger threat: Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

Clinton's pitch came as Trump blamed Sanders supporters for protests that prompted the billionaire mogul to cancel a rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago - just a few miles away from the union hall where Clinton wooed supporters.

Sanders is embarking upon a four-state swing through Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and Illinois, ending the day with an evening rally in Chicago.

___

1:20 p.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is blaming the media for paying too much attention to Donald Trump.

Cruz told reporters Monday before a campaign stop outside of Chicago that coverage of the presidential race has been like a telethon for Trump. Cruz says he keeps "waiting for Jerry Lewis to come out and make and ask for money to help poor Donald Trump."

Cruz says "the mainstream media loves talking about Donald Trump" because he says those in control of media outlets are partisan Democrats want Democrat Hillary Clinton to win and they think Trump is the only Republican who will lose to her.

Cruz says the media has lost focus on issues that matter to voters. He says the election "is not about the latest soap opera about Donald Trump terrorizing some poor, hapless reporter."

___

1:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is calling on Democrats to unify around her presidential bid, arguing that the party must focus on a larger threat: GOP front runner Donlad Trump.

The former secretary of state is telling supporters: "Do not rest...Do everything you can in the next 24-plus hours to come of these elections with the wind at our backs," she said at rally in Chicago on Monday morning, just miles from where protests forced Trump to shut down a campaign event.

She adds that her campaign knows "the way forward to be able to start talking about not only unifying the Democratic party but unifying our country."

Her new pitch comes as Trump blames Sanders supporters for protests that prompted him to cancel a rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago - just a few miles away from the union hall where Clinton wooed supporters.

Facing tightening contests in a trio Midwestern states that vote on Tuesday, Clinton is trying to boost support among minority voters.

___

12:25 p.m.

Election officials say a record number of Chicagoans cast early ballots for this Tuesday's Illinois primary election.

Chicago Board of Elections Chairwoman Marisel Hernandez told reporters Monday that more than 130,000 people voted early according to figures up to Sunday evening. Those numbers compare with the previous record of 81,000 over the same period in 2008.

Board spokesman Jim Allen says the number of people asking for Republican ballots also increased from eight years ago, from around 6 percent of voters to just less than 10 percent this election.

Cook County Clerk David Orr says it won't be immediately clear how many voters cross over from one party to vote in another party primary. But he says it's a relatively rare occurrence and that most Illinois voters tend to stick with their registered party.

___

10:35 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is opening her final full day of campaigning before Tuesday's primaries with a stop at a meeting of Latino activists.

The Democratic primary candidate swung through Pilsen - a major Mexican-American immigrant community in Chicago - before heading to a rally at a union hall. She urged the mostly female audience to head to the polls Tuesday.

"We especially need you now," she says. "We have to have a big vote tomorrow that can send a strong message that loves trumps hate."

Latino voters are a key demographic for Clinton, not only in her primary against rival Bernie Sanders but in the general election. Her aides hope GOP front runner Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration will drive larger numbers to the polls in support of Clinton next fall.

___

9:30 a.m.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is criticizing Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump for donations he made to Chicago Democrats while campaigning in Illinois.

Cruz is making five stops across Illinois on Monday, the day before the state's primary. Cruz told journalists in Rockford that Trump can't be trusted because he donated to Democrats, such as former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic Party of Cook County, where Chicago is located, and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Cruz said that if voters are interested in "abuse of power from Chicago Democrats, then Donald Trump is a great candidate."

Cruz has been casting Trump as a hypocrite for weeks, noting his past donations to Democrats including Hillary Clinton. But Cruz also says he will support Trump if he becomes the GOP nominee.

___

5:45 a.m.

Presidential candidates from both parties are visiting Illinois to woo voters a day before the state's primary election on Tuesday.

Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and GOP candidate Ted Cruz, all have announced plans for Monday visits to the state.

The Clinton campaign says the former secretary of state will hold a public event in Chicago at a union hall. Sanders' campaign says the Vermont senator will end his day with a rally at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

The Cruz campaign says the Texas senator will hold rallies in Rockford, Glen Ellyn, Peoria, Decatur and Springfield. He will begin the day in Rockford at the Coronado Performing Arts Center.

More than 1,000 delegates in both parties are at stake Tuesday when Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio vote.