SPRINGFIELD - 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 Blago-jevich'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 and Louanner Peters became deputy governors when Bradley Tusk left that role later that year.

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."

"This job has been extremely, extremely interesting and fulfilling, but it also is a 24-7 job," Nix said. "There's no way to do it without putting everything into it."

Blagojevich in a statement Monday called Nix "one of the most dedicated and capable people I know" and credited her work on issues such as health care and senior transportation. He promoted top administration aide Bob Greenlee to replace her.

As part of the governor's inner circle, Nix played a key role in promoting his push to provide all Illinoisans with health care insurance.

Democrats who control the Legislature embraced his All Kids coverage program but balked last year at other ex-pansions, souring the governor's relationship with the Legislature and even sending the two sides into court.

Nix said she is surprised at legislative resistance to the governor's efforts, especially from Democrats.

"It did seem like the right time to get a comprehensive plan that would help everybody," Nix said. "It seemed like a possibility and one that you think would be easier to accomplish."

Nix said the governor knows his priorities and how he wants to pursue them but doesn't shut out advisers or change his approach to governing as different situations arise.

"He develops a lot of ideas on his own," Nix said. "He comes up with his own ideas and he's open to ideas anybody else had."

Nix said she has no idea if the governor is the ultimate target of federal prosecutors as they investigate corruption in his administration. She noted Rezko was acquitted on several charges involving fundraising for the governor's campaign.

Allegations of "pay to play" in the Rezko trial prompted lawmakers to approve a measure that would bar people who have state contracts worth $50,000 or more from donating to officeholders overseeing those contracts.

The governor has said he looks forward to taking "positive action" on the bill. Some lawmakers fear he'll expand it in a way that they couldn't accept the changes, killing the whole measure.

Nix wouldn't say what the governor might do with the bill.

"He believes that there are a lot of changes that can be made in the system, and he's trying to figure out the best way to accomplish that," Nix said. "I don't think he has any plans to do something so broad that would make the bill go away."

The governor is also meeting with legislative leaders this week to try to hammer out differences on an unbalanced state budget and a $34 billion construction program that continues to stall in the Legislature.

It's too early to say whether Blagojevich might try to bring lawmakers back to town for an extended summer to get both issues resolved, Nix said.

Nix expects the governor to continue to make health care expansion a priority.

"The problem's not going away," Nix said. "I think you have to keep working on it and keep pushing."