Is suburban Obama sign racist?

It might be offensive, but it isn't illegal.

That's the conclusion police reached about a campaign sign in unincorporated Kane County that contains a "racial slur" in reference to Barack Obama.

The homemade sign, posted along a well-traveled stretch of Route 47 north of Lily Lake, shows a caricature of the nation's first black presidential nominee wearing red-colored hair and a red nose modeled after Chicago's famed Bozo the Clown. There's a red circle with a line through the Illinois senator's head and two words in all capital letters: "NO BROZOS."

Police have received one complaint so far, but "there's nothing criminal" about the sign, Lt. Pat Gengler of the Kane County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday.

For one, it's on private property. Second, it's considered political speech protected by the First Amendment, according to Assistant State's Attorney Clint Hull, who reviewed the matter.

"There weren't any applicable violations of law based on the sign," Hull said.

The man who put up the sign at 8N240 Route 47 told an officer he did so after another one was vandalized, according to a police report. The new sign has a layer of barbed wire around the base.

The man also told police he plans to keep the sign up "until Sen. John McCain wins the election," through he "does not want any attention" from it, according to the report, which did not identify the homeowner.

A man at the residence declined to comment Tuesday.

"It's unfortunate it's come to this level on both sides," said James Durkin, state chairman of the McCain campaign, noting a recent flap over T-shirts calling McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, a derogatory term. "This type of stuff has no place in our campaigning. We don't condone it."