Approval rates
Judge McKay's lifetime approval rate of 41% provides a baseline for understanding her historical decision-making. In the most recent reporting period, your approval rate was 39%, which sits 17 percentage points below the national average of 58%. With a substantial docket of 15,982 lifetime decisions, these figures offer a stable view of bench activity. 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 McKay'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, approval patterns have shown fluctuations while remaining within a consistent range. After a period of lower approval rates around 2021, the data shows a recovery toward the lifetime average, with a peak in 2023. The most recent data indicates a slight cooling from that peak, reflecting a steady approach to case evaluation. These trends suggest that the quality of your evidence remains the primary driver of outcomes in this courtroom.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge McKay'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 McKay? 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 processes cases with varying approval rates that reflect the diverse nature of the claims heard. You can expect a standard administrative hearing process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can visit 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. At the Oak Park Hearing Office, the bench includes 6 judges with lifetime approval rates ranging from 41% to 80%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent 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.