Chicago immigration court
Address
Chicago Immigration Court: 55 E. Monroe Street, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60603
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 3 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
7 of every 10 cases were decided in absentia, without the person at the hearing. Going to your hearing is the most important thing you can do.
With an attorney, 10 of every 100 got relief; without one, 0 of every 100 (10.3 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 45,963 decisions in this court, 1,169 ended with relief, 2,450 with the case closed, 1,888 with voluntary departure and 40,456 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 1,169 | 2.5 % |
| Case closed | 2,450 | 5.3 % |
| Voluntary departure | 1,888 | 4.1 % |
| Removal order | 40,456 | 88.0 % |
| Decided in absentia | 31,734 | 69.0 % |
This court and the nation
With the Chicago court, the share of cases with relief is 2.5 %: similar than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Chicago court, the share of removal orders is 88.0 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Chicago court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 69.0 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Chicago court, the share of people with an attorney is 23.8 %: lower than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Chicago court take longer than nationwide: a median of 873 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 10,919 | 10.3 % |
| Without an attorney | 35,044 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 36 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 8 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Jun 2026 (7,935 decisions) and the quietest Nov 2025 (1,874).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,191 | 108 | 1,345 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 2,124 | 103 | 1,389 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 1,874 | 100 | 1,173 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 1,951 | 82 | 1,116 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 2,224 | 82 | 1,366 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 2,377 | 89 | 1,249 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 3,765 | 135 | 2,322 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 4,023 | 89 | 2,507 | up |
| May 2026 | 4,390 | 131 | 3,049 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 7,935 | 111 | 6,295 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 7,085 | 73 | 5,255 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 6,024 | 66 | 4,668 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
39 judges have this as their main court in the window (12 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Peter A. Kim, with 4,132 decisions.
Sorted by decisions over 12 months. The label compares each judge with the other judges in the court.
| Judge | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. the court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Peter A. Kim | 4,132 | 0.6 % | 88.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Michelle Venci | 3,720 | 1.4 % | 76.1 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Elizabeth Crites | 3,461 | 1.1 % | 66.8 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Patrick M. Mckenna | 3,278 | 1.5 % | 76.5 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Marc Stahl | 3,224 | 5.9 % | 80.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Brendan C. Curran | 3,047 | 2.2 % | 17.5 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ana Mencini | 3,017 | 3.0 % | 61.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Michael Klosowsky | 2,975 | 2.6 % | 67.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Joshua D. Luskin | 2,768 | 5.0 % | 77.5 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Matthew C. Beese | 2,331 | 0.6 % | 75.6 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Samia Naseem | 2,210 | 5.0 % | 70.3 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Gina Reynolds | 2,162 | 4.8 % | 78.9 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Irma Diaz | 1,866 | 4.3 % | 58.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Craig A. Defoe | 1,852 | 3.7 % | 63.3 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Elizabeth Treacy | 1,768 | 4.9 % | 73.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ana Lorena. Quiros | 1,766 | 5.2 % | 58.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge June Lee | 1,596 | 5.5 % | 53.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Donald R., JR. Eller | 911 | 2.1 % | 22.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Shawn J. Abraham | 711 | 0.0 % | 69.5 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Eva S. Saltzman | 566 | 6.2 % | 16.4 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge D'Anna H. Freeman | 561 | 2.1 % | 32.3 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jaime Poarch | 433 | 0.5 % | 64.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Kenneth Flesch | 428 | 0.9 % | 76.4 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Akash Vyas | 381 | 3.9 % | 2.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Robbin Perkins | 305 | 1.0 % | 83.9 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Albert Charanza | 88 | 1.1 % | 83.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Stephen W. Harrell | 66 | 1.5 % | 68.2 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Philip Fluhr | 25 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Jody Barilla | 23 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Carla Espinoza | 16 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Lori Yokoyama | 16 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Sebastian T. Patti | 13 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Kristi Nelson | 11 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Maria Baldini-Potermin | 10 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Kaarina Salovaara | 9 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Jennifer I. Peyton | 5 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Robin J. Rosche | 5 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Samuel B. Cole | 2 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Sheila Mcnulty | 1 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |