Will my vote count toward Ron Paul, Illinois?

If I write in Ron Paul on my ballot will it count? I live in Illinois and i dont know if the party member has registered to have his votes counted??? idk someone told me something like that ....i was and still may vote obama but id rather vote third party but if they are just going to rip the ballot up and not even count it toward any kind of statistic then idk maybe ill vote obama even though i dont live in a swing state