Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both their long-term history and recent trends. Over 10 years on the bench, Judge Deming has maintained a 67% approval rate. In the most recent reporting period, this rate reached 76%, placing the judge 9 percentage points above the national average. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your 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 Deming'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
Judge Deming has issued 19,780 decisions during your 10-year tenure. While your approval rate fluctuated between 55% and 76% over the last decade, the recent trend shows a return to higher approval levels in 2025. This latest period reflects a continuation of a pattern where you have consistently navigated complex case files. These shifts often mirror changes in the types of medical evidence presented in the Oak Park area.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Deming'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 Deming? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Park hearing office
The Oak Park Hearing Office serves a significant volume of claimants across the Illinois region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a diverse caseload that reflects the broader economic and health landscape of the state. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 67%, consistent with broader regional trends. You can see the Oak Park 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 essentially random. At the Oak Park Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 50% to 80%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical documentation. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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.