CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a law Wednesday moving the state's primary election to Feb. 5, 2008, an action that will likely help home state Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Illinois is the fifth largest state in the country,” Blagojevich said in a statement. “The people who live here deserve to play a bigger role in deciding who the presidential candidates will be."

Illinois is the latest state to move its primary to what is being called the new "Super Tuesday," joining as many as 20 other states including New York, California, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey to hold primary elections on that date.

The state's primary election was originally scheduled for March 18.

– CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich