SPRINGFIELD — Bible colleges in Illinois have filed a federal lawsuit against state education regulators, seeking the unencumbered right to award degrees to students who complete their programs. The lawsuit, filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, contends the Illinois Board of Higher Education is violating the Bible colleges’ First Amendment rights of free religious exercise, free speech and ignoring the establishment clause prohibiting a state-sponsored creed. The Bible colleges &mdash …