2019 IL App (4th) 170399 FILED NO. 4-17-0399 August 2, 2019 Carla Bender 4th District Appellate IN THE APPELLATE COURT Court, IL OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Circuit Court of v. ) Champaign County CHALEAH BURGE, ) No. 16CM1074 Defendant-Appellant. ) ) Honorable ) John R. Kennedy, ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE DeARMOND delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice Holder White concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Harris specially concurred, with opinion. OPINION ¶1 In March 2017, defendant, Chaleah Burge, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, and the trial court sentenced her to conditional discharge. Later that month, defendant filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea and to vacate the judgment, which the court denied. ¶2 On appeal, defendant argues the trial court erred in denying her motion to withdraw her guilty plea. We affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 In November 2016, the State charged defendant by information with one count of theft, a Class A misdemeanor (720 ILCS 5/16-1(a)(1)(A), (b)(1) (West 2016)), alleging she knowingly exerted unauthorized control over property of Jane Bond, namely United States currency having a value not in excess of $500, intending to permanently deprive her of the use or benefit of the property. ¶5 On March 20, 2017, defendant entered a fully negotiated guilty plea to the charged offense. Prior to accepting her guilty plea, the trial court admonished defendant pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402(a) (eff. July 1, 2012). According to the State’s factual basis, Bond had undergone knee replacement and was receiving home care from defendant, who worked for Help At Home. On or about September 1, 2016, Bond and defendant ran errands, and Bond cashed a $280 check. While Bond went into a store, she left her purse in the vehicle with defendant. After running more errands, Bond discovered the money was missing. ¶6 The trial court accepted defendant’s guilty plea. Thereafter, the court sentenced her to 12 months’ conditional discharge, imposed various fines and fees, and ordered her to complete an online shoplifting education class. ¶7 Ten days after pleading guilty, defendant filed a motion to withdraw her guilty plea and to vacate the judgment, claiming it was not voluntarily entered. Defendant asserted she was afraid of losing her job if she continued missing work for court proceedings and felt pressured to plead guilty to resolve the case and maintain her employment. She claimed she was unaware she would lose her job if she pleaded guilty. Further, she stated the trial court did not inform her of the collateral consequences of a theft conviction on her ability to obtain and retain employment as required by section 113-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/113-4 (West 2016)), which was in effect when she pleaded guilty. As a result of her guilty plea, defendant lost her employment. ¶8 In May 2017, the trial court conducted a hearing on ...
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