Daniel J. Montgomery has worked on behalf of public education and the rights of working men and women for more than two decades. He was elected to a three-year term as president of the 103,000-member Illinois Federation of Teachers at the union’s convention in October 2010 and unanimously reelected in 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022.

He received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan and holds an M.S.Ed. from Northwestern University. A dedicated and experienced educator, Montgomery taught English for 18 years at Niles North High School in Skokie, Ill. He has also taught in the City Colleges of Chicago and at Northwestern University.

Montgomery is a proud union activist. He has been an IFT member since his first day of teaching in 1993. He served as head of the 1,800-member North Suburban Teachers Union, AFT Local 1274, for nearly 10 years and was a vice president on the IFT Executive Board from 2002 until his election to the IFT presidency. Montgomery also serves as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), where he sits on the Executive Committee with AFT President Randi Weingarten.

Montgomery is also a vice president of the Illinois AFL-CIO and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Albert Shanker Institute, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, and Chicago’s Theater Oobleck. In 2015, Governor Pat Quinn appointed him a trustee of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. He served seven years as a director of the prestigious National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Dan has three children and lives in Chicago, Illinois.