broken ignition lock cylinder

Last night someone tried to steal my 99 Jeep Cherokee Sport. They tried to start it by jamming something into the key cylinder. They ended up breaking the looking mechanism and now my key won't work, it won't turn. Most repair manuals say the key must be in the "ON" Positin to change, since mine won't turn will this be a problem. Help please!

I had a similar problem on my Bronco... Had to drill it out...I went in to far and damaged the rack gear that the key cylinder turns... ended up having to get a steering column from the junk yard. So, after having that bad experience, when I look back on what happened, I think I should have called an experienced locksmith, like my neighbor did when he had the same problem. The old timer locksmith had experience in drilling out key cylinders and only charged him $80.00, bit that was about 10 years ago.

Go to the auto parts store and buy a replacement lock cylinder. Eyeball it to set your bit depth so you don't overdrill the bad lock cylinder. Once the damaged one is drilled enough to turn, you can go through the standard process to change it out.

If you have AAA they might cover this. I know my plan will pay for $150 a year of lock smith service.