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Illinois ALJ Statistics

Social Security Disability hearing statistics for 7 hearing offices and 58 administrative law judges in Illinois.

State Approval Rate

56.2%

vs 58.3% national

Hearing Offices

7

in Illinois

ALJs

58

active judges

Avg Wait Time

7.5 months

vs 8 months national

Hearing Offices in Illinois

Office ALJs Approval Rate Wait Time Processing Pending
Chicago 11 56.5% 7 months 251 days 2,060
Evanston 7 55.9% 7 months 250 days 1,435
Nhc Chicago 10 50.6% 11 months 454 days 645
Oak Brook 3 48.6% 6 months 237 days 958
Oak Park 12 67.7% 8 months 267 days 1,920
Orland Park 9 50.4% 7 months 247 days 2,018
Peoria 6 56.5% 6 months 231 days 1,141

About Illinois Disability Hearings

The Social Security Administration operates 7 hearing offices in Illinois, falling under SSA Region 05. These offices are staffed by 58 ALJs who preside over disability appeals from claimants throughout the state.

The average approval rate across Illinois hearing offices is 56.2%, which is close to the national average of 58.3%. This rate aggregates decisions from all judges across the state's hearing offices. Within the state, office-level approval rates range from 48.6% at the Oak Brook hearing office to 67.7% at the Oak Park hearing office, a 19-point difference.

Wait times across Illinois offices range from 6 months at the Peoria hearing office to 11 months at the Nhc Chicago hearing office.

Across all offices, there are 10,177 cases currently pending in Illinois, averaging approximately 175 pending cases per judge. Click on any hearing office below to see detailed judge-level statistics and individual approval rates.

Illinois Hearing Landscape

With 7 hearing offices spread across the state, Illinois's disability hearing landscape offers multiple points of comparison for attorneys and claimants. Case assignment is determined by residential address, so the specific office — and the judges at that office — depends on where the claimant lives. All statistics on this page are weighted by individual judge caseloads to accurately reflect the volume of cases processed.

With 7 hearing offices, Illinois provides multiple venues for disability hearings. Office sizes vary from 3 judges at the Oak Brook hearing office to 12 judges at the Oak Park hearing office. Cases are assigned to offices based on the claimant's residential address, so hearing location is determined by geography rather than preference.

For attorneys practicing disability law in Illinois, understanding the local hearing landscape is an important part of case preparation. The data on this page provides a starting point for evaluating office-level patterns, though individual judge statistics offer more granular insight into decision-making tendencies. Visit individual office pages for judge-level data.

Illinois Disability Hearing FAQ

What are my chances of approval in Illinois?
The average ALJ approval rate in Illinois is 56.2% for FY 2025. This includes both fully favorable and partially favorable decisions. The national average is 58.3%, putting Illinois below the national benchmark. Office-level rates within the state range from 48.6% to 67.7%.
Which cities in Illinois have SSA hearing offices?
Illinois has 7 SSA hearing offices with a total of 58 administrative law judges. The largest office is the Oak Park hearing office with 12 judges, while the Oak Brook hearing office has 3. The SSA assigns cases to offices according to claimant geography, and judges receive cases through rotation rather than selection.
What is the fastest hearing office in Illinois?
The Peoria hearing office currently has the shortest wait time at 6 months. The longest wait is at the Nhc Chicago hearing office at 11 months, a gap of 5.0 months. Wait time averages reflect the most recently reported SSA data and will evolve as new disposition reports are released.
How is state data calculated?
Illinois has 7 offices serving 58 judges across the state. State averages are calculated by aggregating data from all hearing offices within the state. See our methodology page for details on data sources and calculations. Source data comes from the Social Security Administration's public reporting on ALJ decisions, which we incorporate as updates are released.
Where does Illinois rank in disability hearing outcomes?
Illinois is in SSA Region 05. Its average approval rate of 56.2% is below the national average of 58.3%. For a full comparison of approval rates and wait times across all states, visit the states overview page.
What affects disability hearing results in Illinois?
Hearing outcomes in Illinois are influenced by several factors including the strength and completeness of medical evidence, vocational factors such as the claimant's age, education, and work history, the quality of legal representation at the hearing, and individual judge decision-making patterns. With 58 active judges across 7 offices, outcomes in Illinois reflect a broad range of judicial decision-making patterns.

While all ALJs apply the same federal disability standards, these case-level factors can lead to variation in outcomes across offices and judges.
Can I request a different hearing location in Illinois?
The SSA assigns cases to offices according to claimant geography, and judges receive cases through rotation rather than selection. While transfers between offices are generally not possible based on preference, a change of address that moves you into a different office's service area may result in case reassignment. Illinois has 7 hearing offices, each serving a defined geographic area within the state.

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