SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix says her boss, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, isn’t weakened or distracted by the federal conviction of a top fundraiser as she leaves her post after nearly four years with the administration.

Nix told The Associated Press Monday that she is stepping down this week to spend more time with her husband and three children, not because of the conviction last week of fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

“He (Blagojevich) continues every day to work hard and try to figure out how to help working families in the state,” Nix said. “It’s not a distraction.”

Nix said she’s both proud of and disappointed by her work on expanding health care – a key component of Blagojevich’s second term and a source of major turmoil with state lawmakers.

Nix joined the Blagojevich administration in fall 2004 and worked on Blagojevich’s 2006 re-election campaign..

Nix said she enjoyed the job and wanted to stay longer but told the governor about six weeks ago she needed a break. She doesn’t have another job yet but has been approached with a “couple of projects.”