I am a certified occupational therapy assistant. OT is a wonderful field to go into, but is also extremely competetive. See if your daughter can find out why she didn't get accepted so she can try to make that area stronger for the next time.
The other options are: Chicago State, UIC, Governors State, and Rush. There might be another one, I don't remember off hand. She can go to the American Occupational Therapy Association website - www.aota.org, to find more. There are also a few programs in the Milwaukee area if she is interested in that.
A previous poster mentioned COD's OT assistant program. Unfortunately, they do not offer it anymore. They closed the program about 5 years ago, I think. It's too bad, because it was a wonderful program (that's where I went). The OT assistant programs are at Wright College in the city, and South Suburban College (South Holland, I think?).
As far as what she can do in the interim, i would suggest getting in as many volunteer hours or "internship" hours as she can. OT is a really small world, so sometimes it's a matter of knowing the right person, or having the right experience at the right place. Over the summer, a lot of pediatric clinics will hire summer help. They typically help with a lot of paperwork, but also help out with group sessions so she coudl get some hands on experience that way. She can also check with rehab depts in hospitals or skilled nursing facilities to see if she can volunteer there.
If she has any questions about the profession, she can email me at jenfredrick73 (at) gmail.com.
