Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to current benchmarks helps you understand the broader context of your hearing. While the national average sits at 58% and the Orland Park office average at 46%, Judge Ellis has maintained a 33% lifetime approval rate over 19,890 lifetime decisions. These figures provide a statistical baseline for her tenure. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual 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 Ellis'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 her 9 years on the bench, your judge's approval rates have fluctuated. After an initial period with rates in the high 30s and low 40s, the data shows a shift in recent years, with the most recent reporting periods reflecting a lower approval frequency compared to her career start. This pattern suggests a consistent approach to the evidence presented in her courtroom. These trends are common as case mixes evolve.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ellis'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 Ellis? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Orland Park hearing office
The Orland Park hearing office serves you throughout the Illinois region. As one of the busier offices in the area, it manages a significant volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the Orland Park Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge assigned to your hearing is effectively random. Across the Orland Park bench, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 33% to 63%. Because each judge has a unique approach to evaluating medical evidence, understanding the range of outcomes at your specific office is helpful. You can find more information on the Orland Park hearing office page.
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.