Approval rates
Judge Christensen maintains a lifetime approval rate of 69%, which stands higher than the current 58% national average and the 56% state average. In the most recent reporting period, his 73% approval rate outperformed the local Oak Park office average of 67% by 2 percentage points. These figures are derived from a substantial docket of 22,502 lifetime decisions, providing a stable statistical baseline for your review.
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 Christensen'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Christensen has seen his approval rates fluctuate, moving from a low of 60% in 2018 to a peak of 78% in 2023. This trend indicates a period of rising approvals in the middle of his tenure, followed by a stabilization in recent years. The latest period's 73% approval rate suggests that his decision-making remains consistent with his long-term career average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Christensen'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 Christensen? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Park hearing office
The Oak Park Hearing Office serves a large population across Illinois, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 67%. You can expect a professional environment focused on the medical and vocational evidence presented in your file.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the Oak Park Hearing Office, individual lifetime approval rates for the 6 judges on the bench range from 36% to 80%. Because of this variance, the judge you are assigned can play a role in your hearing process.
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.