Opposition Party (Illinois)

{{confuse|Opposition Party (Northern U.S.)|Opposition Party (Southern U.S.)|}}

The Opposition Party in Illinois was a political label used in 1874, when it was adopted by a coalition of all groups opposed to Republican Party rule in Chicago and Cook County.{{Cite book|title=History of Cook County, Illinois|year=1909 |editor=Weston Arthur Goodspeed |editor2=Daniel David Healy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VtwSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA569|page=569|publisher=Goodspeed Historical Association |isbn=9780608368948 }} The Opposition Party opposed temperance laws and the alleged corruption of the Republican machine{{Cite news|title=The Opposition in the 17th Ward|url=http://flps.newberry.org/article/5418474_8_1165|work=Illinois Staats-Zeitung|date=1874-10-27}} and incorporated both Democrats and more radical political elements. Several members were elected to the 29th Illinois General Assembly on the Opposition Party ticket in the election of 1874; these included Moses J. Wentworth in the 1st district, William H. Stickney in the 6th district, and William H. Skelly in the 7th district.{{Cite book|title=Illinois Legislative Manual–1875|url=http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/bb/id/48264|year=1875|pages=84–88}} The coalition was not successful at the local level, and did not appear in subsequent elections.