May a Defendant Withdraw a Guilty Plea Because He Was Not Aware of Restitution Payments ?

In People v. Jenkins, 141 Ill. App. 3d 602, 490 N.E.2d 953, 95 Ill. Dec. 861 (1986), the defendant pleaded guilty to charges of residential burglary and home invasion. As part of his sentences for those offenses, he was ordered to pay restitution. He sought to vacate his guilty plea because he had not been made aware that his sentence might include restitution. The Jenkins court concluded that "the restitution order exceeded the 'maximum sentence' of which the defendant had been admonished upon entry of his guilty plea." Jenkins, 141 Ill. App. 3d at 609. Although the defendant sought to vacate his guilty plea, the Jenkins court concluded that the appropriate remedy was simply to eliminate the restitution order, noting that "as long as the restitution ordered is vacated, the sentences imposed were within the limits stated to defendant prior to entry of the plea." Jenkins, 141 Ill. App. 3d at 609.