Approval rates
Judge Suffi maintains a lifetime approval rate of 60% across 21,178 decisions. In the most recent reporting period, your judge's approval rate reached 64%, outperforming the Chicago Hearing Office average of 56% and the national average of 58%. These figures provide a baseline for understanding historical decision trends at this office.
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 Suffi'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 10 years on the bench, Judge Suffi has shown a rising trend in approval rates. Starting at 53% in 2016, the rate climbed to 66% in 2024, before reaching 63% in 2025. This pattern reflects a consistent approach to evaluating evidence over your judge's tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Suffi'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 Suffi? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Chicago hearing office
The Chicago 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 average approval rate that reflects the complex nature of the cases heard in this region. You can expect a formal hearing process where the quality of your medical evidence is paramount. You can visit the Chicago 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 your judge is assigned randomly. Within the Chicago Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges vary, ranging from 41% to 69%. Because of this variance, the judge assigned to your case is a factor in your hearing experience.
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.