S. Elgin arson conviction upheld

The state appellate court has upheld the conviction of a woman who admitted setting a South Elgin townhouse on fire in 2004, officials announced Monday.

Cindy L. Bauer, 48, was found guilty of aggravated arson in December 2006 and sentenced to six years in prison. On Thursday, the Illinois Appellate Court upheld the conviction, which Bauer had appealed, arguing that police coerced her confession and her attorney was ineffective, among other claims.

Bauer, who was charged two days after the June 23, 2004, blaze told police she started the fire but thought it had gone out by the time she left the townhouse on the 700 block of Hobart Drive. In fact, the fire was still going, and two men sleeping inside were forced to jump from a second-story window, according to testimony.

In her appeal, Bauer argued she confessed only after police promised to reduce the charges. She also claims her attorney failed to argue in favor of having recorded police interviews dismissed as evidence because parts of the recordings were inaudible.

The appellate court, however, ruled there was no evidence that Bauer's confession was involuntary, or her legal representation inadequate.

Bauer, who set the fire after an argument with her then-boyfriend over money, remains in Lincoln Correctional Center in downstate Lincoln, with a projected parole date of Jan. 14, 2012, according to state records. She also is serving a four-year sentence for a 2006 felony theft conviction in McHenry County, records show.