The Rock Falls City Council approved the appointment of Rock Falls Patrol Sgt. Ryan McKanna as interim police chief Tuesday.

The confirmed appointment follows last week’s committee meeting during which several city officials and members of the Rock Falls Police Department criticized Mayor Rod Kleckler when he announced his pick of Lee County sheriff’s deputy Rollie Elder to replace former Rock Falls Police Chief David Pilgrim.

[ Rock Falls police, council balk at mayor’s police chief selection, say in-house resumes were ignored ]

The city is in “no hurry” to hire its next chief of police, Kleckler told Shaw Local. McKanna will possibly serve as interim chief until the beginning of 2026.

Kleckler said he wouldn’t necessarily call McKanna his choice for chief and that he selected Elder because he “was the best, most qualified candidate.”

Elder has 17 years of experience in law enforcement and previously served as chief at the Erie Police Department. He began his career at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office serving as a deputy and K-9 handler and is also a former Rock Falls officer, according to his resume.

McKanna has nearly 12 years of experience in law enforcement - a majority with Rock Falls police. He was hired at the department in 2015. Prior to that he spent a year as a patrol officer at the Freeport Police Department and just under a year as a corrections deputy at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

Five other Rock Falls officers submitted applications for the chief position - Deputy Chief Doug Wolber, Sgt. Mitchell R. Ottenhausen, Detective Sgt. Jeremy Vondra, Sgt. Jonathan Cater and Officer Betony Gluff, according to city records.

At the Sept. 30 committee meeting, eight members of the Rock Falls Police spoke out against an outside hire and said they felt that their years of loyalty and service to the city were not being valued.

Many of the Rock Falls officers who spoke also said their resumes and cover letters were not turned over to the council. City Administrator Robbin D. Blackert and Alderperson Violet Sobottka said the only application they saw was that of Elder.

“There’s a procedure to” hiring a new police chief which has not been followed. It’s “become a one-person campaign to sway the council,” Sobottka said Sept. 30.

Kleckler said Tuesday that he has “no authority to show those applications to anyone else” and did not show them to the council.

No committee has been formed to hire the next police chief. It’s “my responsibility as mayor,” Kleckler said.

The Illinois Municipal Code says that in most municipalities, the mayor, with the consent of the council, appoints the police chief.