Faculty and staff at SIU Edwardsville say they no longer have confidence in the university's board of trustees - and are asking the Illinois General Assembly to put pressure on the board when it comes to distributing state funds.

State lawmakers say hours of testimony Monday on the SIU Carbondale campus will help as the group shapes the future of higher education funding in Illinois.

Legislation that could have severed the Southern Illinois University board of trustees into two separate organizations may be put on ice to allow time for an independent study.