Rock Falls Police Chief David Pilgrim will retire at the end of September.

Pilgrim told Shaw Local when confirming his decision to retire that his decision has nothing to do with the father of a Rock Falls murder victim calling for Pilgrim’s resignation.

“I was not asked or forced” to leave the Rock Falls Police Department, he said. Pilgrim said that retiring was “a personal decision” that he’s “been contemplating for over a year.”

A formal announcement will be made at the Sept. 2 Rock Falls City Council meeting. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. and is held in the council chambers at 603 W. 10th St. in Rock Falls.

Pilgrim started his career at the Rock Falls Police Department in August 2001. He was named chief in 2021, according to the department’s 2024 year end report.

With 24 years in law enforcement, that’s a “long career” and it’s just “time for a change,” Pilgrim said.

[ Rock Falls murder victim’s father wants police chief to resign, says chief to blame for investigative errors ]

The father of a Rock Falls man stabbed to death in February publicly called for Pilgrim’s resignation in June.

Daniel “DJ” Gordon, 27, was killed Feb. 14. Police arrived at the 600 block of West 20th Street in Rock Falls around 1:50 a.m. that day to find Gordon unresponsive and suffering multiple abdominal stab wounds. Kyle Cooper, 36, of Rock Falls, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

The case was headed toward trial until May 14, when Cooper’s defense attorney, Jim Mertes of Sterling, announced that a plea agreement had been reached. On May 22, Cooper pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was given the maximum 20-year sentence.

The plea announcement followed several hearings where Mertes made arguments aimed at discrediting the Rock Falls police investigation. Three Rock Falls officers testified that several protocol violations were made at the scene, such as not processing a vehicle for evidence and allowing witnesses into the crime scene, among other things.

Soon after Cooper’s sentencing, Dan Gordon, DJ’s father, called for Pilgrim’s resignation in June saying that the department’s poor leadership is what led to those investigative errors.

However, Pilgrim and several Rock Falls city officials have all continued to support the department’s investigation.

[ Rock Falls mayor says police department ‘running smooth’ amid victim’s family calling for chief to resign ]

The city is “not agreeing” that officers mishandled anything in the investigation, Rock Falls Mayor Rod Kleckler told Shaw Local in August.

“I believe our police department has done a fine job representing the city of Rock Falls,” Rock Falls Police and Fire Commission Chairman Brian Snow said in August.

“I wish Dave [Pilgrim] the best,” Gordon said. “I don’t wish him any ill will.” He “deserves a long and happy retirement.”

This is not a “victory,” Gordon said. “I wish none of this would’ve happened.”