Update: Additional comments were added to the 27th through 31st paragraphs.A federal appeals court Tuesday cleared the way for an Illinois inmate who has been held in solitary confinement for eight years to try to pursue a claim that his civil liberties are being violated.The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of Cordell Sanders’ contention that the conditions of his confinement — if not the fact that he has been held in solitary confinement for a long period of time — run afoul …