Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to current office and national benchmarks provides perspective on the local hearing environment. Judge Bruning has presided over a significant volume of cases during her 10-year tenure at the Oak Brook Hearing Office. While her lifetime rate is 54%, recent data shows a 57% approval rate, which aligns with the office average. These aggregate rates describe past decisions rather than predicting the outcome of your specific hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Bruning's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over 10 years on the bench, your judge has navigated a varied caseload, with yearly approval rates ranging from 43% in 2019 to 67% in 2023. Recent decision-making reflects a steady pattern, with the latest reporting period showing a 57% approval rate. This stability suggests that her approach to evidence evaluation has remained consistent as case volumes have shifted. These trends indicate that the focus remains on the specific medical and vocational evidence you present in your file.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bruning's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Bruning? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Brook hearing office
The Oak Brook Hearing Office serves a large population across Illinois, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. You can expect a review process where the quality of your medical documentation is paramount. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 57%, reflecting regional trends in disability adjudication. You can visit the Oak Brook Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is random. Within the Oak Brook Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 34% to 83%, highlighting the diversity of judicial approaches in this location. Regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing, the fundamental requirements for proving your disability remain the same.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.