Ted Harvatin

Theodore J. (Ted) Harvatin grew up in Rochester, Illinois, a farming and bedroom community near Springfield. His mother was from Benton, Illinois, where her parents, who emigrated from Macedonia (the former Yugoslavia), started and ran a bakery for 40 years.

Ted's father, who was an electrical engineer at Illinois Bell Telephone, grew up in Sesser, Illinois. Ted's dad's parents emigrated from Croatia, another part of Yugoslavia, and Ted's grandfather Harvatin toiled in the Sesser coalmines. Ted's uncle played professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals' baseball organization.

After graduating from Rochester High School as a member of the National Honor Society, Ted attended Knox College, a private liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, a small community near Peoria. Ted majored in economics and business administration, and graduated Cum Laude (high honors). The college faculty selected him for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic fraternity in the nation, whose members represent the top 10% of their graduating class.

Ted was admitted to, and graduated from, the University of Illinois College of Law, a Big Ten university located in Urbana-Champaign. Based on his law school admission test scores, Ted was accepted as a member of the Mensa International Society, which according to its web site "is a society [that] welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population."

Ted began practicing law in Springfield in 1981. He believes that his diverse family background and intellectual accomplishments give him unique insight into the problems that his clients face in today's world.

Ted and his son, Alex, enjoy anything having to do with cars. Ted is also an avid bicyclist. Harvatin Law Offices is a sponsor of Team Mack, a local semi-professional bicycle-racing team. Ted himself is a former Big Brother and is a sponsor of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Sangamon County.

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

Sangamon County Bar Association

Member Since: 1981

Illinois State Bar Association

Section Member, Traffic Law Council

Member Since: 2006 - present

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

Association of Trial Lawyers of America

Representative Cases

Davis v. Industrial Comm'n (Charles J. Gramlich), 261 Ill. App. 3d 849; 634 N.E.2d 1117 (4th Dist. Industrial Commission Div. 1994)

City of Springfield v. Indus. Comm'n. (Glenn Wessel), 328 Ill. App. 3d 448; 766 N.E.2d 261 (4th Dist. Industrial Commission Div. 2002)

Clark v. Jesse White (Illinois Secretary of State), 343 Ill. App. 3d 689; 798 N.E.2d 412; 278 Ill. Dec. 310 (4th Dist. 2003)

Webb. v. White (Illinois Secretary of State), 364 Ill.App.3d 650; 850 N.E.2d 233; 302 Ill. Dec. 796 (4th Dist. 2006)

Wild. v. White (Illinois Secretary of State) 2006 Unpublished Opinion.

Published Works

"Strategies in Handling DWI and DUI Cases: Driver's License Hearings with the Illinois Secretary of State". Lorman Educational Services. June 22, 2006. Springfield, Illinois

"Court Supervision in Traffic Cases: New Strategies for Amended Laws". Illinois Bar Journal, April 2006, Volume 94, No. 4, pgs. 192-93. (Reprinted in Westlaw online and distributed at annual Judge's training course.)

"DUI Will Travel: When Drunk Driving Cases Cross State Lines." Illinois Bar Journal, August 2011, Volume 99, No. 8, pgs. 406-409).

Speaking and Lectures

Worker's Compensation and Vocational Rehabilitation. April 16, 2001. Department of Rehabilitation Services Retreat, Shelbyville, Illinois

"The Prairie Lawyer" (local public access cable television program). Topic: Driver's License Hearings with the Illinois Secretary of State.

Speaker: "Strategies in Handling DWI and DUI Cases: Driver's License Hearings with the Illinois Secretary of State". Lorman Educational Services. June 22, 2006. Springfield, Illinois

Moderator/Speaker "Traffic Law Update". Illinois State Bar Association, Law Ed Series, March 3, 2007.