New York’s total bill to post the National Guard in prisons — a response to last year’s corrections officers strike — is set to swell past $1 billion, officials said. The proposed expenditure shows the prisons' ongoing staffing issues , which were exacerbated by a three-week wildcat strike that began last February. The corrections department launched a special recruitment drive, increasing the number of people graduating from its training academy by 36%, a department spokesperson said. “The governor should address the safety concerns that the corrections officers have brought up,” said Walczyk, who is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. State prisons were operating at 76% capacity as of October, according to the Correctional Association of New York, a watchdog.