Illinois Social Security Disability Lawyers

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If you are thinking about applying for Social Security disability in Illinois, then you should weigh the benefits of hiring an attorney. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer can significantly improve the odds that your case will be approved.

Social Security data from Illinois reveals that 37% of the Social Security disability claims are denied on average. Of course, most applicants that have been denied on their first attempt appeal the decision. However, the chances of approval are even worse in the first phase of the appeals process, which is formally known as reconsideration.

The vast majority of claimants will have to wait until their hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) to have a significant chance of approval.

Illinois has 5 Hearing Offices where you can go to have your case heard by an ALJ. They are listed in the above table.

Most successful Social Security disability claims are approved during the hearing, largely because the ALJs have more leeway in the way they handle claims and can actually see and hear you while you present evidence of your disability.

Overall, 42% of Illinois disability hearings result in an disability benefits being awarded.

On average, Illinois residents wait 508 days for their hearing before an ALJ. Some Hearing Offices are more favorable than others.

Disability Statistics for Illinois
Office Judges Avg. Hearing Wait Time Average Processing Time Avg. Dispositions Per Day Per ALJ Cases Dismissed Cases Approved Cases Denied
Oak Brook 10 16 months 543 days 1.87 17% 25% 58%
Peoria 9 14 months 503 days 1.93 30% 43% 28%
Orland Park 14 12 months 442 days 1.72 0% 50% 50%
Chicago 13 15 months 521 days 1.80 33% 33% 33%
Evanston 12 15 months 532 days 1.66 23% 61% 16%
All Illinois 0 14 months 102 days 1.80 21% 42% 37%
All Administrative Law Judges in Illinois
Judge City of Operation Full Favorable Part Favorable Total ALJ Dispositions Total Awards Total Decisions Total Denials Total Dispositions
Janet Akers Orland Park 8 7 41 15 32 17 41
Jose Anglada Chicago 42 11 124 53 105 52 124
Paul R Armstrong Chicago 37 15 188 52 163 111 188
Robert C Asbille Evanston 46 10 107 56 90 34 107
Bonny S Barezky Chicago 50 5 99 55 74 19 99
Lovert F Bassett Evanston 58 5 109 63 84 21 109
Cynthia M Bretthauer Evanston 36 2 89 38 77 39 89
David R Bruce Orland Park 65 8 135 73 115 42 135
Janice M Bruning Oak Brook 67 13 206 80 189 109 206
Margaret A Carey Chicago 21 16 138 37 103 66 138
Kimberly S Cromer Oak Brook 48 15 134 63 106 43 134
Daniel Dadabo Evanston 72 7 138 79 134 55 138
Sandra R DiMaggio Wallis Chicago 12 1 99 13 34 21 34
Deborah E Ellis Orland Park 14 12 122 26 103 77 122
Myriam C Fernandez Rice Chicago 3 3 121 6 12 6 12
Victoria A Ferrer Oak Brook 16 4 109 20 54 34 77
Victoria A Ferrer Orland Park 1 1 109 2 3 1 4
Joel G Fina Oak Brook 32 14 101 46 78 32 101
Bernadette Freeman Oak Brook 45 7 77 52 63 11 77
George Gaffaney Chicago 52 7 155 59 112 53 155
Jordan Garelick Chicago 45 11 144 56 117 61 144
Deborah M Giesen Orland Park 38 5 153 43 131 88 153
Theodore W Grippo Chicago 59 7 172 66 136 70 172
Michael Hellman Orland Park 37 4 96 41 80 39 96
Jessica Inouye Evanston 25 10 97 35 68 33 97
Lana Johnson Evanston 26 15 86 41 76 35 86
Matthew Johnson Orland Park 56 8 135 64 107 43 135
Kathleen Kadlec Orland Park 41 21 137 62 117 55 137
Roxanne J Kelsey Oak Brook 42 3 94 45 86 41 94
Patricia Kendall Evanston 34 5 68 39 54 15 68
Jr., William J King Chicago 39 12 113 51 77 26 113
Henry Kramzyk Chicago 32 5 133 37 111 74 133
Bill Laskaris Chicago 22 10 107 32 74 42 107
Lee Lewin Evanston 40 9 102 49 87 38 102
Michael Logan Chicago 52 9 94 61 85 24 94
Robert V Luetkenhaus Peoria 28 12 132 40 112 72 132
William J Mackowiak Oak Brook 85 9 151 94 137 43 151
Denise M Martin Chicago 30 13 97 43 72 29 97
John Martin Chicago 39 19 114 58 93 35 114
Nathan Mellman Chicago 13 16 112 29 87 58 112
Barry A Miller Evanston 56 8 111 64 97 33 111
John P Mills III Peoria 31 14 145 45 129 84 145
Kim Soo Nagle Chicago 1 3 80 4 10 6 10
Beverly S Parkhurst Chicago 25 1 62 26 38 12 62
Michael Pendola Orland Park 39 5 83 44 68 24 83
Kevin Plunkett Evanston 30 2 93 32 71 39 93
John Pope Chicago 0 0 2 0 2 2 2
Mary Ann Poulose Chicago 43 12 129 55 111 56 129
Gerard J Rickert Peoria 6 3 40 9 39 30 40
Brian Saame Chicago 16 1 25 17 23 6 25
Thomas J Sanzi Chicago 13 4 82 17 67 50 82
James Satterwhite Chicago 0 0 129 0 0 0 1
Karen Sayon Orland Park 51 15 158 66 126 60 158
Robert H Schwartz Peoria 18 15 111 33 100 67 111
Anne Sharrard Chicago 25 8 112 33 82 49 112
David Skidmore Chicago 59 6 118 65 99 34 118
Jennifer Smiley Orland Park 47 10 123 57 102 45 123
Gregory Smith Orland Park 78 9 160 87 145 58 160
Deanna L Sokolski Chicago 20 14 99 34 70 36 99
William Spalo Oak Brook 23 8 76 31 59 28 76
Edward P Studzinski Oak Brook 32 12 151 44 125 81 151
Carla Suffi Chicago 51 3 109 54 78 24 109
Patricia W Supergan Orland Park 28 2 72 30 53 23 72
Steven H Templin Oak Brook 24 2 36 26 35 9 36
David W Thompson Peoria 32 9 128 41 104 63 128
Sherry D Thompson Orland Park 0 0 6 0 2 2 3
Kevin Vodak Evanston 25 9 104 34 84 50 104
Laurie Wardell Chicago 24 16 159 40 132 92 159
James D Wascher Evanston 33 5 72 38 64 26 72
William Wenzel Chicago 21 1 36 22 28 6 36
Shreese M Wilson Peoria 29 16 120 45 94 49 120
Kathleen Winters Peoria 15 3 126 18 107 89 126
Luke Woltering Chicago 26 16 113 42 96 54 113
John M Wood Peoria 36 1 106 37 78 41 106
Susan F Zapf Peoria 32 15 118 47 100 53 118
View Social Security Offices in Illinois