Approval rates
Judge Gruenburg's approval rate is evaluated against the latest performance metrics from the Oak Park Hearing Office and national standards. In the most recent reporting period, she maintained an 84% approval rate, which sits 13 percentage points above the office average and 22 points above the national average. This data is derived from a docket of 25,985 lifetime decisions. 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 Gruenburg'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 10-year tenure, Judge Gruenburg has shown a consistent trend in her decision-making. Starting with a 72% approval rate in 2016, her annual approval percentages have trended upward, reaching 85% in 2025. This pattern suggests a stable approach to evaluating evidence over time. The recent figures indicate that her current decision-making remains above her historical lifetime average.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gruenburg'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 Gruenburg? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Park hearing office
The Oak Park Hearing Office serves a significant population in the Illinois region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office handles a diverse caseload that requires careful navigation of 20 CFR Part 404 regulations. The office currently reports a 67% approval rate, which serves as a baseline for local proceedings. You can see the Oak Park Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
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, the office's 6 ALJs demonstrate a wide range of lifetime approval rates, spanning from 36% to 80%. Because each judge brings a unique perspective to the evidence, the specific judge you draw matters. 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.